Minutes 01-26-2018 Retreat - Laserfiche WebLink

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21 month. Even though residents can pay their tax bills in installments if they have to, some cannot afford the rise. Maybe over the time period some people who do not have a job now will have one. o Commissioner Marcoplos said that he might change his mind, but today he is seeing the advantages to a one-time increase. Phasing will make residents experience a tax increase year after year; after only one increase over the past eight years residents will find that repeated increase objectionable. The amount may not be as important as the perception that we are in an era of tax increases. I also would like us to have some revenue stored up front before what I expect will be a difficult future. I see the benefits of phasing as well, he said, and I look forward to our continued discussions. o Commissioner Dorosin said he is leaning toward phasing. It is how I would run my home finances, he said: putting a large necessity on a credit card and paying the amount off over time. If I thought all our residents could pay off the $7M all at once then I would support a one-time increase, but we all can’t. The one-time increase might be enough to displace people. o Commissioner Rich said she supports a one-time approach, at least right now. We told folks that if they voted for the bond referendum it would mean a five cent increase in their taxes. Residents will have to pay a lot more under the phased rather than the one-time scenario. I think we should continue the conversation and weigh it out together. o Commissioner Jacobs noted that the Board has been talking about the highest possible increase under the two scenarios. If we actually did some of the other things – cost reductions, other revenue enhancements, efficiencies, adjusting the reserves – then the tax increase might be lower – two cents instead of four cents -- and more palatable as a one-time event. o Commissioner Marcoplos said that another option is to phase in the increase in two increments (year one and three, for example). o Commissioner Price said that when the tax increases stopped over the past eight years, residents’ expectations settled around the idea that the tax rate does not increase. She added that even if the Board decided on a one-time increase for FY18- 19, there is no guarantee that new conditions would not arise making it necessary to increase taxes again in the next or in future years. • Ms. Hammersley thanked the Board for this discussion. She said her thinking when recommending phasing to SWAG was that in the later years an opportunity might arise to help avoid the later phases. The numbers are not my primary consideration when I craft a budget recommendation, she said. The primary consideration is the balance across environmental sustainability, social justice, and economic vibrancy. We’re affecting people’s lives, and we need to keep that in mind as we make our decisions. We’ll give you as much information as we have to help you in understanding the impacts. This is the first time we have talked about the budget before the budget, and it is giving me a greater perspective for thinking about how I’m going to address this without surprises for you all. • Commissioner Rich said that the County’s messaging on the budget situation has to happen repeatedly. It used to be you had to say something three times before people remembered it, now that number might be seven. It’s important for us not to have our message hijacked.